Connecticut governor takes partial blame for illegal cutting of 186 trees on neighbor's property

Source: Associated Press

Connecticut governor takes partial blame for illegal cutting of 186 trees on neighbor’s property

BY SUSAN HAIGH
Updated 5:55 PM EDT, April 29, 2024

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont acknowledged Monday he helped hire a landscaper that illegally chopped down more than 180 trees and thousands of bushes on a property behind his Greenwich home, capping off days of questions about his level of involvement.

The wealthy two-term Democrat along with one of his neighbors and a neighborhood organization have been accused of removing trees in protected wetlands — property they do not own — to get a better view of a pond. Lamont denied that charge, telling reporters on Monday the trees were damaged in previous storms and the plan was to clean up the area. Yet he admitted partial responsibility for inadvertently cutting trees on someone else’s land.

“I think at the end of the day, I’m responsible and the (neighborhood organization) is,” Lamont told reporters after appearing at an unrelated event at Bridgeport Hospital on Monday. “They hired a contractor to do the work, and I think the contractor went beyond the scope a little bit.”

Lamont said he expected the landscaping company hired by himself and the neighborhood group, known as the Ashton Drive Association, would have obtained any needed permits with the town of Greenwich. He told reporters he also didn’t realize local permission was needed to remove what he considered dead trees.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/connecticut-governor-lamont-tree-cutting-controversy-5f6f312f844581fb937bb11a78d4d3ad